I Just Want To Live
by Coles18
Summary: Harry and Ginny's first meeting in The Burrow after the Battle of Hogwarts, and beyond. Slightly AU.
1. Chapter 1

It was the night of the fourth of May. The castle had been cleared and repaired. Harry went with the Weasleys and Hermione to stay at The Burrow. Fred's funeral, held in the cemetery of a church in Ottery St Catchpole, had ended at around one that afternoon. After a celebration of his life back at The Burrow that lasted until nine o'clock that night, people began to disperse. Bill and Fleur retreated to Shell Cottage. George went to his flat above Weasley's Wizard's Wheezes in Diagon Alley. Percy went to his flat in London. Charlie, who was staying the night at The Burrow, went to his room. Mr and Mrs Weasley went to bed. By ten o'clock Harry went to bed as well, in Percy's old room.

Later that night, the door to his bedroom opened slowly, and he leaned over to his bedside table to put his glasses on.

And there she was, as clear as day. Ginny walked over to his bed in her pyjamas. He sat up and smiled at her. She sat on his bed opposite him, and then leaned in to kiss him. His right hand snuck to the back of her head, tangling in her gorgeous Weasley red hair. After at least five minutes, they broke apart.

"I missed you this past year," she whispered.

"Words cannot describe how much I missed you," he said.

"You have no idea how sappy you sound." She grinned

"Well, it's the truth. When we were on the run, I used to go to bed, get the Marauder's Map, light my wand under the covers, and just watch your dot in your dormitory hoping you were alright." He blushed at this admission.

"At least you had a map to kind of keep an eye on me. All I had was the radio, and even then they weren't sure if you were okay. Not knowing whether you are alright or not is not something I want to experience again," she told him with a sad look.

"You want to get in?" he asked, patting the space beside him.

"What if someone sees us?"

"Well, all we'll be doing is sleeping, right? So we'll just tell them that," he replied, with a wink.

"I guess so," she said with a blush creeping up her cheeks.

Ginny got off the bed, so she could pull back the duvet and get in. She noticed with a bigger blush that he was only wearing his boxers.

They lay on their sides facing each other, holding hands. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes. Harry stared at her. How he could have not seen it before, he didn't know.

"Ginny…" he whispered, barely audible.

"Hmm?" Her eyes were still closed.

"I love you." Her eyes snapped open at that, her eyes wide.

"What?" She looked shocked.

"I realised during the time that I was away, I wanted to be with you more than anything in the world. I love you, Ginny," he said again with a more forceful voice.

She moved forward to kiss him. "I love you too. But please promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"Don't leave me again," she said, with a grin on her face, but he could tell she was being serious.

"I won't. I promise." He kissed her on her forehead tenderly, and held her close to him, vowing to never to let her go.

Ginny fell asleep within minutes. However, it took Harry a while to get to sleep. But with Ginny with him, he was convinced that she helped him forget, temporarily, all of the nightmares that had happened in the past two days. Ginny fidgeted, so that her back was against Harry's chest. Harry moved his left arm to drape over her waist and buried his face into her long, sweet-smelling hair. Soon after, he dropped off to sleep in this comfortable position.

They woke the next morning, cuddled in a spooning position. Ginny's back was against Harry's chest, and he had one arm draped around her waist.

Ginny turned around to face him. "Good morning," she said as she smiled at him.

"It is indeed a good morning." He kissed her. "I could get used to this," he said and grinned wickedly at her.

"As could I," she said as she rested her head on his shoulder, her index finger drawing circles on his bare chest.

Neither of them noticed that Ron had just come into the room.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Ron said in a dangerously low voice, as he closed the door.

"Oh shut up, Ron. We were only sleeping in the same bed. We didn't _do_ anything," Ginny said calmly, sitting up.

"Yeah…well…it's just as well. I don't think Mum would like it," Ron said with a hint of a frown.

Ginny pecked Harry on the check and said, "I'll see you later; I need to go and get dressed."

"Okay, see you in a bit then," Harry said.

Harry was just thinking about the wonderful and innocent night he had just spent with Ginny when Ron's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Oi! Earth to Harry!"

"Oh…what? Sorry, Ron," Harry said, confused for a second.

"Don't mess her around, Harry. I mean it's great that you two are back together and all, but please be good to her."

"Ron, last night I told her that I love her. I don't think she would ever let me, or anyone else, mess her around to be honest, mate. Trust me, I love her." Harry knew that from the moment he had started going out with Ginny that he would have to have this conversation with Ron.

Ron just stared, dumbfounded at Harry's response. "Wow, I didn't know you felt that deeply about her."

"Yeah, though it took a while for me to find out though." A memory came to Harry's mind from the battle, in the Room of Requirement. "The same goes with you as well." Ron just stared blankly at him. "Don't mess Hermione around, otherwise you'll have me to deal with. She's like my sister, so we're in the same boat really, aren't we?" Harry said.

"Yeah, I suppose so. And you don't have to worry about that. I may be stupid when it comes to girls, but it took us ages to get together. I'm not so stupid as to throw it away the second we get together."

Harry just laughed and laid back down on his bed, smelling the flowery scent that Ginny had left behind.

"Do you know what you'll be doing? I mean, will you go back to Hogwarts or will you take up Kingsley's offer of joining the ministry without your N.E.?" Ron asked.

"To be honest…I'm not sure. I just want to enjoy living for the moment, now that I can do so without worrying about Voldemort wanting to kill me. I know I'm going to live in Grimmauld Place in the end though. What about you?"

"I'm going to help George in the joke shop; he needs a bit of help with Fred not there anymore. Well, I'm going down to the kitchen. Mum's making breakfast," Ron said with a gloomy look on his face. "I think she's trying to keep busy so she won't have to think about Fred."

"Hey, Ron, look I'm sor— " Harry started, but before he could get his sentence out, Ron interrupted him.

"Don't apologise, it wasn't your fault. Fred didn't have to fight, but he did. He knew the risks," said Ron.

Harry said nothing at that, but he still felt guilty that he hadn't handed himself in earlier. Maybe Fred, Remus, Tonks and so many others wouldn't have died.

"Harry, stop wallowing in self-pity and come downstairs and have some breakfast. You know Mum doesn't like you missing meals."

"Yeah, alright. Just let me just get dressed, and I'll be down." With that Ron left Harry alone, to get dressed.

At the moment he just wanted to live his life to the fullest.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Summer**

It was mid-June, and Harry and Ginny were sitting in one of the fields around The Burrow, surrounded by tall grass that the local farmer never cut. They had just finished eating from a picnic basket, in the bright, warm sunshine.

"Kingsley has asked me if I want to join the Auror department, without having to take my NEWTs," Harry told Ginny.

"That's great, Harry," she said, smiling at him. He could tell that it was a forced smile. She looked down at her hands and started fiddling with a piece of grass.

He moved over to sit beside her. "Hey," he said lifting her chin so that she was looking at him. "I didn't say I was going to take him up on his offer. I would rather go back to Hogwarts to be with you." He kissed her and she kissed him back. The next thing he knew, she was laying on her back on the blanket and he was leaning over her. Ginny ran her hands over his torso; she started to undo the buttons of his shirt.

Harry's hands were also exploring. He put a hand on her hip as the other tangled itself in her hair. The hand on her hip slowly crept up and under her blouse.

Ginny slid her hands over his shoulders taking the undone shirt with them. She let hers fingers linger over the many scars on his chest. Then she moved her hands towards his trousers.

"Gin," he said as he pulled away, once she started to undo his trousers. "We can't do this here," he said regretfully.

"Why not?" she asked, teasingly.

"Because it's our first time and I want it to be special for both of us."

"That's something I should be saying," she laughed. "You are right though."

Harry put his shirt back on, and they cleared up the picnic things and headed back to the house hand in hand.

As they walked through The Burrow's kitchen, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked up at them from the dining table.

"Harry, Ginny, do you mind if we talk for a few minutes?" asked Mr. Weasley.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, both wondering if they had been seen by her parents while in the field.

"Don't worry, it's nothing bad," soothed Mrs. Weasley. "Sit down." Her voice was suddenly quite authoritative as she gestured to the seats opposite her and her husband.

"We wanted to talk to you about your relationship," started Mr. Weasley, having been nudged by his wife.

"Yes," agreed Mrs. Weasley. "We know you have been together for a while now, since the final battle and before Dumbledore died..."

Mr. Weasley continued, "So, what we are saying is that you may wish to become more… um… intimate – beyond kissing that is."

Harry could not believe what he was hearing. He was being given 'The Talk' by his girlfriend's parents. He chanced a glance at Ginny, who was sitting stock still looking horrified at what was happening. Her face was nearly as red as her hair. Harry knew that hisface wasn't far off.

Ginny said, "Mum, Dad, we know all about sex and what not. Do we really have to talk about it?" Now Harry was sure his face was about to burst from the heat that he could feel radiating off of it.

"Yes we do, young lady. We want to make sure that we don't receive any grandchildren by you two any time soon," Mrs. Weasley told them, forcefully.

"Now," continued Mr. Weasley, "I'm sure you both know the mechanics of sex. But we want to make sure that you know how to protect yourselves from an unwanted pregnancy. There are two ways that you can do this. The first is a potion that Ginny will have to take every time before intercourse; you mother will teach you how to brew that properly. The second is a charm that can be placed upon either of you. The more reliable one would be the potion, as there is only a small possibility of failure if you follow the method correctly. Now, the charm is quicker, but also less certain to prevent pregnancy. This is because you could easily get the wand movement wrong." Mr. Weasley proceeded to show them how to cast the charm. "Right… Any questions?"

Ginny spoke next. "I have two… are Ron and Hermione going to get this talk? And, can we go now?"

"Yes, they will," replied Mrs. Weasley. Ginny looked mischievous at that. "And no, I have one more thing to say. While Arthur and I approve of your relationship, we do not approve of your sleeping in the same bed or rushing into something which you may not be ready for. Also, I do NOT want anything happening under this roof, understood?"

Harry just nodded. Ginny said, "Can we go now?"

"Yes, you may." Ginny promptly got up, leading Harry by the hand.

Harry followed Ginny into her room. "I cannot believe them!" she exclaimed as she threw herself on her bed. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that." He went and sat beside her.

"It's alright – although it's not something I want to repeat. It was embarrassing as hell."

He held her hand. "At least something good came out of it." Ginny looked sceptical.

"Oh, is that so? What's that then?" she asked, leaning on her elbows looking up at him.

"Well, we now know they approve of us being together," he said, smiling.

Ginny kissed him softly. "You can be so thick sometimes, you know that?" She laughed. "Of course they approve; they love you as if you were their own."

"I know, but it's still good to hear them say it out loud," Harry replied.

"I love you, so much," she told him, while pulling him down so he was lying next to her.

"I love you, too," he replied. He kissed her forehead gently.

They lay there together for what seemed like hours. Ginny resting her head on his chest, while he played with her sweet-smelling hair. It was only when Mrs. Weasley called them hours later to help with setting the dinner table that Harry noticed that Ginny had fallen asleep.

"Gin."

No answer.

"Ginny, wake up." This time he nudged her.

She groaned. "Just five more minutes."

"Ginny, come on wake up. We need to set the table for dinner." He put his hand on her cheek.

"Dinner? Is that the time already? How long was I asleep for?" she asked.

"Couple of hours, tops," he replied.

"Harry! Ginny! Come down here now! Or I'll come up there and get you!" Mrs. Weasley shouted from the kitchen.

Five minutes later, while setting the dinner table together, Mrs. Weasley called Ginny into the scullery where, Harry knew, she kept her medicinal potions. While they were in there, Harry set about finishing setting the dinner table.

Harry had just finished when Ginny returned with Mrs. Weasley carrying a box, which Harry guessed contained vials full of contraceptive potion.

Harry motioned to her to follow him.

"Dinner will be ready in half an hour!" Mrs. Weasley called after them.

He led her up to his room. When they were inside she put the box on the desk.

"You do know that there is no pressure for us to become more intimate? I'd never pressure you," Harry told her, holding her close to him.

"Of course I know that," she said as she smiled.

They stood there holding each other for a while.

Harry broke the silence first. "I've been thinking of going to Grimmauld Place," he told her softly.

"Why?" asked Ginny, curious.

"Well, you know Ron, Hermione and I stayed there last September, but then after the fiasco at the Ministry, we couldn't go back?" Ginny nodded. "I want to see what damage the Death Eaters did, and then fix it up so that it can be lived in."

"You want to live there?" asked Ginny.

"Well, yeah. Once I'm out of Hogwarts I'll need somewhere to live, and there isn't any point buying a new house when I already have one, is there?"

"No, I suppose not. Would you mind if I come with you? And maybe, if you don't mind, I could help?" She looked hopefully up at him.

"Sure, I could use some help with the decorating. When shall we go?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, okay. But you'll have to ask your parents if you are allowed to go," Harry told her.

"Fine, Potter. You always ruin my fun." She smiled wickedly at him. "Let me just put this in my room," she said motioning to the box on the desk.

"I'll come with you."

Just then Mrs. Weasley called them down for their dinner.

"I'll ask them after dinner," Ginny sighed.

It was a Sunday, so The Burrow's kitchen was quite full, with the exception of Ron and Hermione who were currently with her family, after Kingsley had located her parents in Australia just two days ago. Naturally, Hermione wanted to spend some time with them. Ron had sent her a letter asking if he could go and meet her parents officially, so they had arranged that for today.

Harry and Ginny sat next to each other at the dinner table. Harry started the subject of going to Grimmauld Place during dessert.

"I was thinking of going to Grimmauld Place tomorrow, to see the damage that the Death Eaters caused last September. I'm planning to live there after Hogwarts, so I thought I might do it up this summer to make it more habitable," Harry told all in the room.

"And I was wondering if I could go too, to help him out? Is that alright?" Ginny asked her parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked at each other, and then Mr. Weasley asked, "Has it been checked by the Aurors for dark spells and stray Death Eaters that may be hiding there?"

"Yes, as far as I know they did find many cursed objects, but they reversed them before they left. And, there were no Death Eaters," Harry replied. "They didn't say anything about possible damages, but I thought it best to check it out, just in case."

"Okay, Ginny, if you want, you can go. But just remember our little talk earlier, okay?" said Mr. Weasley.

All present suddenly looked either very amused or mischievous, George looking the latter. He started asking questions about what kind of talk. Harry and Ginny were silent and red-faced after that and ate their dessert in silence.

Bill asked Harry, "How are you planning to get the portrait of Sirius' mother off of the wall?"

"Well, Sirius said that it was probably stuck on with a permanent sticking charm, so I was thinking of taking down the wall behind her portrait, and bricking it back up again. And then I'll probably give the portrait to Kreacher to keep," Harry told the room, most of whom looked surprised at his plan.

Later that evening, Harry and Ginny were having a conversation about where to get the decorating things. Harry wanted to go to a Muggle shop but Ginny wanted to go to a shop in Diagon Alley. In the end, they decided on a bit of both.

"I think I'll get an early night tonight; I haven't been sleeping well lately," Ginny told Harry while they were sitting on the sofa. He was playing chess with Ron, who had come back from Hermione's just after dessert.

"Really, why is that?" Harry asked concernedly.

Ginny blushed. "I just haven't been able to sleep since that night I spent with you."

"Me either, to be honest. You know we can't do that again, though. Remember what your parents said," Harry said softly.

"Oi, Harry, it's your turn!" Ron told him loudly.

Harry took his turn, not really paying attention anymore.

Ginny sighed and said, "I'm going to talk to them about it. I'm sure they'll understand. I'll be right back." She kissed his cheek, and left the living room to go to the kitchen, where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were.

It was nearly half an hour before she came back to the living room. Harry looked up from the chess board when she sat next to him.

"What did they say?" he asked.

"They said that we could sleep in the same bed, as long as nothing happens, of course." She rolled her eyes, but smiled at the same time.

"Shall we go up then? You said you were tired," Harry asked.

"Yeah, sure"

They said their goodnights and headed up the stairs to Ginny's room. They silently got into bed and Ginny rested her head on his chest. Harry kissed her softly on the top of her head, and soon they both fell asleep, enjoying the first good night's sleep in over a month.


End file.
